Turtleducks
by Violettree
Summary: Zuko thinks he'll just feed the orphaned baby turtleducks and leave. The turtleducks think otherwise. Set post Western Air Temple. Twoshot.
1. Chapter 1: The Turtleducks

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar: The last Airbender, I would currently be egging James Cameron's house for stealing the show's name.

Turtleducks

Zuko was out hunting when he heard the peeps. Baby turtleduck peeps, coming from the river.

He investigated, and found a nest, hidden in the pond reeds. Four baby turtleducks, and a grown mother turtleduck far downstream. Dead. And the babies were hungry.

Zuko turned away, about to leave, but then turned back, defeated by his newly discovered conscience and a few old memories. He had to help them. It was the right thing to do.

_What do turtleducks eat?, _he wondered. _Mud? Rocks? Pond weeds? Yeah, pond weeds, that's it._

"Stay here," he muttered to the babies. Like they could understand him. "I'll be back."

He began to search through the water. _What do pond weeds even look like?_

He ended up pulling up a bunch of short, grass-like things from the riverbed and wading back to the nest.

He dropped them in front of the peeping turtleducks and watched them eat. _I guess they like that, whatever it is._

After they finished, he turned to leave. His good deed was done for the day.

When he was about five minutes away, he heard a very loud, very distinct 'peep'. He turned back around, knowing exactly what he would see but hoping he was wrong.

Four turtleducks all lined up in a perfect line.

"No! Go away! I already fed you!" he said, backing away. The turtleducks followed him, peeping all the way.

"AUGH! Leave me alone!"

"Aww, that must be so cute."

Zuko froze. It was Toph.

"So," she continued, "who's the father?"

Zuko didn't like resorting to begging, but if _anyone _found out, Sokka would never let him, the Gaang, or the entire world ever forget that he played mother to a group of baby turtleducks.

"Toph, _please _don't tell anyone about this."

" I dunno, Sparky, it would make wonderful revenge for burning my feet..."

"I won't firebend during our spars for a week."

"Weeeeelllllllllll..."

"And I'll give you piggyback rides for a month."

"...Deal. What are you doing with them anyway?"

"Their mother died, they were hungry. I fed them. Now they won't leave me alone!"

"Not my problem. See ya."

She started to walk away, then stopped.

"Oh, and by the way, I will _never _let you forget this." Then she was gone.

Zuko sat down on a boulder."Great," he muttered to himself, "I've got a following of four turtleducks. Now what?"

His mind ran through the list of options.

"Well, I couldtake you back to the temple. There are a lot of old fountains where you could live."

"Peep."

"They have food and everything, but they don't have a place for you to sleep...

"Peep, peep peep peeeppeeppeeppeeppeep..."

"You could sleep in my room at night, I guess...as long as your quiet."

Silence.

"Maybe you do know what I'm saying. Alright, lets go. But be _quiet about it."_

* * *

><p>The turtleducks were indeed 'quiet about it', and Zuko actually got them to the temple. without disturbing Aang's meditation or Sokka's sleep. Of course, disturbing Sokka's sleep is something only Toph has ever succeeded at, but still.<p>

Toph had also found out where he was keeping the his 'children', and it nearly made her puncture a lung from holding in her laughter. But when she thought he wasn't looking, he caught her petting them.

The days passed by. Early every morning, the turtleducks would be brought to the fountain, where they would eat the algae and pond reeds that had grown there over time. Toph and Zuko would visit them constantly throughout the day. At night, the turtleducks would be smuggled to his room, and would climb into his bed, despite the obvious little turtleduck nest on the floor. He would then lay awake all night, worried about crushing one of the tiny lumps.

And the secret was well-kept, for half a week. Then, one night, it happened.

It was a typical night, typical campfire, typical dinner. He walked up to Katara to get his dinner, which was a bowl of stew from the fish Sokka had caught earlier. There was also a vegetarian broth for Aang.

As usual, Katara was glaring at him like he'd just trashed her room. Everyone else was acting all oblivious to her hatred, talking and laughing about something. He didn't really care.

Suddenly, he realized that Katara was smiling at him. Or, rather, something behind him. The group began to laugh even louder.

He closed his eyes. He knew exactly what was behind him.

"Peep."

* * *

><p>AN: Spellcheck is hilarious. It tried to turn Sokka into Hokkaido. Really? Hokkaido? That's not even a real word.

Ok, I have learned that it is, in fact a place in Japan. Why doesn't my school teach anything important?

So, if you don't have anything better to do...

See that blue button? Click it.


	2. Chapter 2: The Coronation

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. If I did, the movie would pronounce the names right, for starters...

So, alright already. Here is more. But this is it. If you want to write your own stories about Zuko and the Turtleducks, then be my guest. Just let me know. I would want to read it, out of curiosity.

So, here you go, enjoy.

_About a month later..._

It was the day of Zuko's coronation. After two weeks of teaching the Avatar firebending, going on 'field trips', and caring for turtleducks, it was finally over.

The turtleducks had barely been rescued from the Temple when Azula had attacked, and they had lived in the fountain, ancient, disused, and full of turtleduck food.

Teaching them to fly had been Aang's job. No one knew how he did it, but they had learned to fly in no time at all. And, just days before the final battle, they had taken off, all grown up and ready for the world in just four short weeks. And everyone but Zuko had gathered in a room, and had sworn to never let him forget it.

Toph had been the one to share the story with Iroh, who had laughed until he literally passed out. As he was unconscious, the Gaang, minus Aang, had been forced to trust that Aang would show up.

He had. Suki almost died, and Zuko(whose nickname had changed from 'Sparky' to 'Mom')had been shot full of lightning bolts. Katara had been able to heal him, but he had felt strangely energized for the rest of the day.

And, now, it was time.

Aang sat in meditation just inside the front door of the palace. Everyone else was quietly talking near him-Katara, Sokka, Toph, Haru, The Duke, Teo, Hakoda, Iroh, and Suki.

Zuko stood there for a moment, then said, "I can't believe that a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting you down, and now.."

"Now we're friends." said Suki.

He smiled. Aang stood up, and they all walked out on stage together.

The cheering was immense. The Southern Water Tribe, The Order of the White Lotus, The Kyoshi Warriors, the swampbenders, the deserters, Mai and Ty Lee, Ursa, all their Earth Kingdom allies, and a bunch of Fire Nation nobles that nobody likes. And, at the front of the crowd was a strange object, which would record the event. The Inventor had been working on it for some time, and Sokka had helped complete it. They called it a 'video camera.'

"Today," began Zuko, "this war is finally over," Cheering, except from some Fire Nation nobles. Zuko's eyes narrowed almost imperceptively, and he took mental notes of all their names.

Zuko hadn't actually prepared a speech, but he figured that it was going well.

"I promised my uncle that I would restore the Fire Nation's honour, and I will. Th road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting have left the world scarred and divided." _I'm proof of that, _he thought, "But with the Avatars help, we can get it back on the right path, and enter a new era of love, and peace."

One of the Fire Sages came forward as Zuko knelt.

"All hail Firelord Zuko!"

As he stood, with the hairpiece in place, there came even more, loud cheering, and, somewhere in the backgroud...

'Quack quack quack quack quack...'

_Oh crapmuffins._

Four grown turtleducks flew over the crowd, heading straight for Zuko. One landed on his head, one on each of his shoulders, and one landed right in front of him, turned and quacked at the crowd.

Sokka got some inspiration, "Hey, Mom, look! Your kids are back!"

Suddenly the turtleduck on his head noticed something shiny. Acting on instinct, it grabbed it and flew away, the flame-shaped gold object firmly grasped in it's bill.

"What the- Wait! Come back! I need that!" It was truly a sight to remember, Firelord Zuko chasing a turtleduck that he had raised as his own child, the other three running after him, quacking all the way. And it would be remembered, as Sokka and the Inventor's video camera captured the moment, immortalized as the first video ever.

A/N Fate just seems to hate Zuko, doesn't it? I wonder why...oh yeah! It's FUN to pick on Zuko! He's my favourite character, though, and I like Iroh and Toph, too...

How can the turtleducks fly? I think they hide their wings in their shells.

Well, anyways, this is the end, if you want more, write your own, read and review, don't drink and drive, and all of that. Hope you enjoyed.


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